Sharpened Sticks and Lost Souls
by Lellida
Summary: A rather long poem depicting the the plot and some of the symbolism in LotF.


Was reading LotF for School, and it disturbed me so much I had writer's block. So the obvious solution was to write a poem about it. Basically a ballad about the plot and the stuff that happens. Major spoil alert here obviously, but you might not understand it until you actually read it. The ending was kind of rushed, as I have to give back the book tomorrow so I apologize.

It happened too fast-  
For the boys that is.  
Falling with crimson metal,  
Only to meet  
(Meet and destroy)  
Emerald forest  
Leaving a long scar  
Telling of the disaster.

Fair hair and golden tan  
Greasy windbreaker,  
glimmering specs  
"I don't care as long as  
they don't call me  
Piggy."  
A mistake,  
that would cost him his life.

"No grownups?"  
…  
"No grownups!"  
The conch called others  
Like a sliver of sunset  
on the civilization they knew.  
From the forest they came,  
Smeared in berry juice  
and stains.

The beach  
entertained evil.  
A black shadow;  
Choir boys  
Following a flame of fury.  
"Where's the man with the trumpet?"  
Peering into darkness.  
The flame saw a shock of  
gold sun.  
"No man." it said.  
"Only me."  
(Until the end)

The meeting was held.  
The conch, uniting them,  
Temporarily.  
A leader was chosen  
And the flame of anger  
Was fanned.  
But then the question;  
Was it an island?  
Three went to look  
The flame, the sun,  
And the cooling dark water  
Between them.

Finally, atop a mountain  
"This belongs to us."  
A sense of power  
And unity  
Until they climbed back down.  
It was questioned  
"What about the beastie?"  
It was decided  
"We'll build a signal fire!"  
Off they rushed.  
So excited, yet  
"Like a crowd of kids."

Flames consumed  
All too well  
"You got your small fire!"  
Indeed it was small  
For a blaze.  
Epiphany happened  
But it was too late  
The one with the mark  
Was gone.  
The beastie  
forgotten  
For now

In the heat of the jungle  
The flame spread.  
Trying to make up  
for his past error  
("I was choosing a spot!")  
Tracking his prey-  
Pig  
(at least for the moment)

Back on the beach  
A clash of priorities  
Huts vs. Hunting  
Civilization vs.  
Savages  
Neither won.  
(Or would win)  
Like salt and sugar  
So different  
Yet so tantalizing  
Together.  
Miles apart.

Time passed  
How much,  
No one knew.  
Nor did they care.  
Not anymore.  
Little'uns played,  
Ruled,  
Hurt,  
And one helped break  
taboos of society.  
(Another would pay)  
The flame wore the mask  
That could never wash off  
Red and white clay  
To hide from the pigs.  
Or was it from himself?

Despair ensued  
A dim hope of rescue  
On the horizon  
Was quelled;  
Like the dead fire on the mountain.  
So hard did he run,  
But the sun could not run fast enough  
And rescue was replaced  
With a hunter's chant.  
"Kill the pig!"  
"Cut her throat!"  
"Spill her blood!"  
The flame's desire quenched.  
Running rampant,  
Until he reached the fire.  
The fire he was meant to keep ablaze.

"You let the fire go out."  
"There was a ship!"  
"We could have gone home!"  
The anger fell on deaf ears.  
He was too full of glory  
And blood-lust.  
"There I apologized."  
A sigh escaped the crowd.  
A fire was built.  
The meat was cooked.  
And power was exerted  
On both pigs.

An assembly was held,  
Too late to decide.  
The beast came back.  
A snake,  
A squid,  
Them?  
"What's the dirtiest thing there is?"  
As laughter ensued, the poor dark water  
Withdrew into himself  
And failed to save them all.  
A ghost.  
That's what the beast was.  
They'd kill it.  
"Bullocks to the rules!"  
"We hunt!"  
Their society fell apart  
And alliances were gone  
Poor Percival Wemys Madison  
Forgot his name.

A sign came that night.  
They weren't alone in anarchy.  
The "monster" from the air,  
Descended upon the island.  
The parachute of it's once humanity  
Trapping it.  
The twins saw it.  
Saw the billowing and the movement.  
They ran.  
Didn't stop to think it through.  
It was too late.

Once more assembly.  
A chaotic meeting,  
But it was decided.  
They'd hunt for the beast.  
Look in the one place  
No one explored.  
But of course,  
It wasn't there.

The sun rose the next morning.  
A shock of gold hair shook  
He hadn't been clean in so long,  
Why think about it now?  
But he did.  
He cared.  
And he cared about the hunt  
that followed  
"I hit him!"  
And he joined in the ceremony,  
Afraid of himself.  
"Just a game."  
If only...

The search toiled on.  
Once more,  
the flame and the sun  
Clashed.  
No cooling water to divert them.  
He'd gone back to help the poor Pig.  
As the air boiled,  
It was brought to light.  
"Why do you hate me?"  
But there was no answer.

Up and around they went  
No sign of the beast  
Finally, they had decided  
To visit the mountain.  
The flame, the sun and the  
Taboo-breaker.  
(Breaking much more than that)  
Saw, and Ran.  
The beast was there  
Still trapped by the wind's torment.  
And children's fear.

Once more an assembly.  
But it did not assemble  
"I'm not going to play any longer."  
"Not with you."  
The fire's hot tears  
Only fueled his anger  
Off he went.  
To hunt  
To live  
As he saw fit.

As the remainder of  
Civilization  
Tried to save themselves  
The hunters went on a rampage  
Targeting the large sow.  
They attacked  
Assaulted,  
Raped  
The pig of her life.  
"Right up her ass!"  
When their violent ecstasy  
Subsided,  
The new chief spoke  
"Sharpen a stick at both ends."  
A gift to the beast.  
The head of the pig.  
Soon adorned with flies.  
The hunters left it that way,  
But it was not alone.  
A small puddle of dark water  
Stood watching in the shadows.

The flies came to worship  
To gorge on the offerings  
While their Lord reigned.  
"Silly little boy." it grunted.  
"Aren't you just a silly little boy?"  
But this silly boy  
Understood.  
The Lord of the Flies was here  
"-And I'm the Beast"  
"I'm part of you."  
"-so don't try to escape!"  
He didn't.  
Just sat there  
Staring at the evil  
That was in them all.  
The Lord became angry  
"You're not wanted."  
Oh how he knew that.  
He knew too much.  
As the Lord of the Flies  
Grew  
He was swallowed into it's darkness  
(Soon to be forever)

Upon awakening  
The dark puddle  
Got a splash of cold water  
"What else is there to do?"  
Toiling up the mountain  
He finally met  
The beast  
Or what was left of it.  
The stench of decay  
And corruption  
Brought him to his knees.  
Slowly reaching for the cloth  
He freed the parachute  
From the wind  
Setting the corpse  
To a tired rest.  
Staggering down the mountain  
To tell the others.  
He had forgotten  
The Lord of the Flies  
"-you'll only meet me down there."

Ignorant of the epiphany in the woods  
The boys on the beach were  
divided.  
Some desperately flamed  
The dying signal fire  
Others:  
"Me and my hunters are having a feast!"  
And who could resist the thought  
Of meat  
So they all went.  
Divided at first  
Then united  
By the sizzling, succulent  
Meat.

Tensions rose  
Power was questioned  
And a hunter's dance  
Began.  
"Kill the beast!"  
"Cut his throat"  
"Spill his blood!"  
The savages chanted  
Waiting  
For a beast  
Or anyone.

Soon the dark water  
Came flowing down the mountain  
Too late  
To save himself.  
In an act of frenzy,  
Spears flew,  
The poet fell,  
And the "beast"  
Was dead.  
Dark cool water  
Mixing with ocean brine.

The next morning  
"Are you the only one left?"  
"Nobody else?"  
The poor pig  
The shock of blond hair  
Sat glumly.  
A word hanging in the air,  
Dripping with knowledge.  
"Murder."  
"It was an accident!"  
But someone still paid.

The savages were numb  
They had only wounded  
The beast  
No one else.  
Coming back from the hunt,  
"What'll we use for lighting the fire?"  
Only for food  
(Rescue long forgotten)

Back on the beach  
At night  
The raid happened.  
Blows exchanged  
Power shown.  
"I thought they wanted  
The conch."  
That symbol of power  
Was useless now.  
But the poor pig's glasses  
Were not.

The final show of power,  
Came that day.  
The rest of civilization  
Would confront the savages  
(Yet why confront when you can turn?)  
"No paint!"  
"-we want smoke."  
Why?  
He tried to remember  
Could barely.  
The savagery he detested  
Was eating his brain.

Up the mountain they climbed  
"I'm calling an assembly"  
The savages scoffed  
The taboo-breaker  
Threw stones  
(for now)  
Then the flame appeared  
Engaged the sun in a fight.  
"Don't you understand?"  
"You painted fools?"  
But they were beyond human.  
And he was trapped.

Suddenly the earth jolted  
Loosed it's mighty fury  
The taboo-breaker  
Was finally breaking  
Something else.  
The rock hit.  
The conch shattered.  
The spectacles  
(Had he still had them)  
Destroyed  
Along with their owner.

As horror engulfed all.  
The flame rose.  
"That's what you'll get!"  
A spear thrown  
Ripped through flesh  
Screaming through  
The sun's skin.  
He ran.  
The twins stayed  
The taboo-breaker  
(Now a back-breaker)  
Nearly broke the code of power.  
And descended upon them.

Reality blurred now  
As the one with the gold hair  
Tried to save himself.  
His friends;  
Dead,  
Taken by savages.  
"-they made us."  
"They hurt us."  
"They're going to hunt-"  
"-You."  
"Roger sharpened a stick at both ends."

The sun had met  
The Lord of the Flies.  
Met him in the jungle.  
Where his skull gleamed wickedly.  
The sun had beaten him.  
Broken him.  
Yet he was still there  
Worse than before.

The hunt was on  
Run  
Hide  
Run  
But it was no use.  
The savagery consumed him  
Eventually  
Attack!  
The island was on fire  
The flame finally  
Had spread too far.  
(Such a nice signal fire!)

Run  
Faster  
They were gaining on him.  
And suddenly  
It didn't matter anymore.  
"Hullo."  
"Are there any adults?"  
"Having a war or something?"  
The rest of the boys were emerging  
So normal yet so strange  
To society  
Poor Percival Wemys Madison  
No longer knew who he was.

"Who's the boss here?"  
"I am."  
The sun finally had won.  
"I should have thought-"  
"-pack of boys-"  
"-been able to put on a better show-"  
"Like Coral Island."  
But it was too late for these thoughts  
And as the boys began to cry  
Realizing their loss  
of humanity  
The officer couldn't  
Understand.

Faces are washed,  
Yet the clay was hard.  
Hands were cleaned,  
Yet the blood stained.  
Civilization welcomed them  
back.  
But they were too far away  
to notice.


End file.
